Saturday, February 12, 2011

I Cry the Day I Take the Tree Down...

...because this year it's on February 12th.
...because the evenings won't be so sparkly anymore
...because it takes so long to put everything up, but taking it down is done in 1/4 the time.
...because it means the Christmas season is officially over.
...because we have to find a place in the garage for everything again.
...because the amount of dust in the places hidden by the tree seems to have multiplied tenfold.
...because even though it goes a lot faster taking it down, it still takes a while.
...because it's sad putting away all the special ornaments we've gathered from our travels over the last 6 years...including the Mickey Mouse ornament we just got at Disneyland and actually added to the tree after we came home from our trip!
...because...well, because I just do.

During Christmas time, I blogged about how Melon Man started decorating the tree on his own this year and added two dozen of his own "special" ornaments - red and white candy canes.

To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled at first. They just didn't "go" with the glittery conglomeration of ornaments we usually have on the tree and my tiny pee-size of a grateful brain just didn't care for them...or so I thought. But, after I finished decorating the rest of the tree...and, of course, put all of the candy canes back on the tree, I really liked them. I mean, I REALLY liked them. There was something special about them. Maybe it was because HE added them to our tree, not me. Maybe it was because they were simple amongst the glittery. Maybe it was because this was Melon Man's way of trying to make Christmas a little more "him" than just me (he's not a big fan of Christmas for some reason). I don't know exactly why I liked them, I just did. So, today when I was taking down the tree, it really did draw a tear to my eye to take them down.

I used to wrap each and every one of our ornaments individually when putting them away. Now that we have a 9 foot tree, there are just too many of them to spend the time doing that. So, since they just get put in a crate, stored away for a year, and then brought back into the house again, I just put them in a crate now and call it good. Obviously, the crate we've been using the last two years is now too small...so, I've had to move to a larger crate.

Oh, it's so sad...the barren tree...

As I was putting things in crates, etc., I saw this...a pile of our shoes...two pair of mine, two pair of Melon Man's. I though it ironic that they are the exact same styles. This is our normal shoe spot...right next to the dishwasher. Right in the middle of the great room area. Close to the living room if needed to go outside suddenly and right on the way out if heading out through the garage.

We bought new crates this year...clear ones so we can see what is in them and slightly smaller so we can put them in the garage cabinets the deep direction and get more of them in than before. We also bought a slightly taller crate about the same size so we can put all of our chargers in it and store them outside. We have chargers in red, green, silver, gold, and copper now. Ten to 12 of each and you've got a huge stack of chargers to find a place for! So, since they really only come out on special occasions, they can go in the garage, but they'll be protected!

After I was done taking down the Christmas stuff, I decided to put out a few Valentine's Day things since it IS only 2 days away. I added silver, red, and pink chocolates to our apothecary jar on the bar...

We have our wooden heart hanging outside by the front door...

...and our burgundy and pink wreath hanging on the front door. Maybe next year I'll be even more inclined to put up more.

After I was done with all of this, I worked on designing the Prom tickets and got the ward bulletin done for tomorrow. So, today was a productive day. And, that felt good.

Thomas S. Monson Said...

"With all the strength of my soul I testify that our Heavenly Father loves each one of us. He hears the prayers of humble hearts; He hears our cries for help. . . . His Son, our Savior and Redeemer, speaks to each of us today: 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him' (Revelation 3:20). Will we listen for that knock? Will we hear that voice? Will we open that door to the Lord, that we may receive the help He is so ready to provide? I pray that we will."

Henry B Eyring Said...

"I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done." As I have begun doing this in my own life I have witnessed the quiet beauty of recognizing the hand of the Lord in my life every day."

Neil A. Maxwell Said...

"When life is hard, remember - we are not the first to ask, 'Is there no other way?'"